Menu Plan for the week of Jan. 18, 2013: Saturday's Recipes

Bean and Celery Salad
Veal Marengo
Brussels Sprouts with Lemon Butter

A typical can or tin of beans, 15oz (450gr), yields about 1 1/2 cups of drained, rinsed beans. You can make the salad when you start the veal, letting the flavors have time to blend.

Bean and Celery Salad Preparation and cooking time: 15 minutes I originally made this salad with frozen Lima Beans, which are not available here. Now I use flageolet, which may not be available in where you live. Use lima beans, white kidney beans (cannellini), smaller, navy beans or even edamame....

Veal MarengoPreparation and cooking time: 90 minutes This can be cooked in the 90 minutes allotted or left to simmer for a couple of hours if that works into your schedule better. You can serve it over gnocchi, pasta or egg noodles. I'm using pasta. Unlike a lot of Italian sauces, this is very light on tomatoes, just enough for some flavor.

Cut veal into 1 1/2 inch (3.75cm) cubes. Mince or crush garlic. In a deep, heavy pan heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the veal and brown on all sides. Add garlic, tomato paste, stock, wine, bouquet garni and thyme and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 45 minutes.
Peel shallots. Clean mushrooms (see techniques). If mushrooms are large cut in half or quarters. Melt butter in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and sauté until starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and sauté another 5 minutes, stirring often. After the veal has simmered for 45 minutes add the shallots and mushrooms and simmer another 30 minutes or until vegetables are done.
With a slotted spoon remove the meat and vegetables to a serving dish. Cover to keep warm. Turn the heat to medium-high under the sauce. Give the cornstarch mixture a stir and add to the sauce a little at a time until thickened to your liking. Pour over the meat and vegetables and serve over gnocchi or pasta.

Pasta Time: 25 minutes

1 1/4 cups penne or egg noodles or gnocchi for two

Cook according to package directions. Drain and put into a large bowl. Spoon Veal Marengo over and serve.

Brussels Sprouts with Lemon ButterPreparation and cooking time: 15 minutesLemon adds a fresh taste to vegetables and goes well with thyme. The sprouts are cooked quickly to prevent the strong, bitter taste common to overcooked cruciferous vegetables.

Trim Brussels sprouts: slice a bit off of the stem end and peel away the outer leaves - any that are damaged, wilted or discolored. Cut each sprout into quarters. Put the sprouts into a medium skillet, add water to the depth of 1/4" (.5cm), cover and cook until just tender when pierced with a knife, about 8 minutes.
Uncover and pour off water. Return pan to heat and add butter. Stir to coat sprouts and sauté 1 minute. Add herbs, lemon, salt & pepper and sauté, stirring for 1 minute longer.